Heist of the Aztec Necklace
by Mustsleep
Summary: Because criminals have nothing better to do than steal from other criminals. ItachixSakura.
1. Chapter 1

Heist of the Aztec Necklace

Chapter 1

Sometimes he worked nights at museums. Other times, mansions or banks. He was a thief who specialized in objects of the rare and precious status. Although he was known to do side jobs, like pickpocketing. In their field, one didn't have the option of being so particular. Refusing any job could potentially lead to loss of a future client. Which meant loss of employment. He was good at his job and the relationships involved. He made sure his clients were happy and got what they wanted, always.

Tonight he was in a museum. Here he rarely stole an item off the shelf, in a stand, out on a pedicel because that was idiocy. There were greater and more priceless treasures hidden away in the vaults and storage rooms.

His latest prize rested beneath his arm in a small, black box. It was an Aztec gold necklace. Recently a private expedition group had unearthed a burial ground. The group had exited the country with the treasures they found. Both the dig and trafficking of artifacts were done illegally. That was one of the reasons there had been no news in the 'outside' world. On the other hand, private collectors were going crazy and the black market dealers already had a set of fakes ready to provide to any ignorant customer. He and his team had been hired by a collector to retrieve one. They wanted one that was guaranteed to be real and they were paying a large amount to make sure.

The one in the museum had been sent in for verification. The expedition needed documentation to sell for a good price. Bugs and cameras, he and his team had planted a year ago, heard the verification. But before the item was returned, he had been ordered to recover the piece; it was always good to be ahead of the game.

Itachi's lips tilted up slightly, the game was just ending, for him anyways. The necklace was already secured under his arm as he shimmied into one of ventilation systems. He was one of the best, but he wouldn't be the only one out on the hunt. Now that word had gotten out about the real authenticity, many would be flocking to the building.

Earlier he had avoided a pair of novices trying to take out a laser system. The poor kids didn't even realize they were going down the wrong hallway, and he didn't have the heart to tell them otherwise. They'd looked like college students, and not just any college students, the nerdy kind. That cued him in on the fact that it wouldn't just be advanced thieves after his prize tonight. Word must have gotten out to some of the well known black internet sites. By morning, there would be cops at the building. Children were always bound to mess up, even on the simplest of jobs.

He predicted that the more advanced would be arriving a little later, expecting to take advantage of a guard change at eleven thirty post meridian. That had changed when the museum realized what was in their custody. Being in the shady business themselves, as in verifying illegally brought in artifacts, they knew that the item would be sought. They increased security and shifted the guard schedules around. Internal intel, his partner had cornered a guard at a bar, had given them the advantage over other competition.

His partner had already taken out the three guards that were supposed to be on outside duty. The fourth and fifth, who were supposed to be guarding the inside of the room, had been easily overcome by a one dollar hot wheels car and a small motor. A quick pick and the small lockbox had been opened. They could have at least put it behind a combination lock if they wanted a thief to take eight seconds. Four seconds to take out the cutter. Two seconds to position. Two more to make the cut. As it was, it had only take a second and a half, he'd already had his tools out. Sometimes things were just too easy.

Or not.

He stopped, noticing something wasn't right. His eyes squinted as he looked down the vent shaft; he thought he had heard a sound.

A clinking noise followed the pit in his stomach. The sound meant trouble. He could hear sizzling near his hand and flickering of light. Joy. A firecracker. He shielded his eyes, waiting for the worst. The fuse ran out and a smoke pillar came right at him.

He was coughing within seconds, trying to regain oxygen and composure. But before he could do so, something hit him and hit him hard.

With a thump his head hit the ceiling, then his back hit metal. Hands began to grip at his body, searching him.

He clung to the box while trying to breath, already he could see grey at the edge of his vision as he began to go unconscious. He was a sick man, the disease inside of him already made it difficult to get air. With the smoke filling his lungs it was impossible to breath.

Something pressed against his face and it took a moment for him to realize it was a gasmask. He blinked his watering eyes as smoke surrounded the two of them and voices to the side alerted him that those outside of the ventilation system were seeing the smoke. He needed to get out.

He pushed up, trying to get the person on top of him off. They were both going to get caught if they stayed like this. His movement made the gas mask move off of his face and immediately he couldn't breath again. He gave several gasping breaths before the mask was put back on.

There was another clinking noise as the smoke bomb was kicked away.

He could feel a cool hand with nails pressing against his throat checking for a pulse.

It was her.

The gasmask was pulled away and soft, cool lips pressed against his own. Instinct won over everything else. Both hands grabbed at the back of her head, pulling her closer. A soft murmur of approval greeted his action. His hands began sliding lower, as his mouth enjoyed the luscious taste from the strawberry lip balm. Suddenly the body above him was gone and, reaching to the side, he realized so was his prize.

It had been her.

He could hear people coming in all directions, and he knew he could spend no more time lying on his back.

He quickly made his way to the exit, rolled across a hallway to avoid a guard (who was watching the entire ventilation system retch pink smoke) and climbed out the window he had previously soldered the bars off of. He made his way across the grounds and scaled the high wall, dodging the barb wire with ease. He jumped onto the roof of a blue van, and then to the city street.

He pulled the side door opened, got in and then slammed it shut. He took several deep breaths.

"Looks like you failed."

His eyes looked at his partner, taking in the smiling features and black, beady eyes he hated with a passion. A flash light beamed itself at him as he felt the van move.

"Would you look at that rich, red lipstick." So it hadn't been lip balm. Great.

The man laughed as if it was the best joke in the world.

Itachi could only narrow his eyes in anger. The woman was only good at stealing from other thieves...him in particular.

"Why was _she_ there Kisame?" he growled. He wasn't really expecting an answer, Kisame wasn't really the most informed.

Kisame continued to laugh as he reached down and plucked something from Itachi's shirt. "When the clock chimes twelve times, can you find the best Italian cuisine? If so and you pay, the pretty little necklace is yours to keep," Kisame read from the paper.

Itachi snatched the paper away.

"She thinks you're such a work-a-holic that the only way to get what she wants is to intervene on one of your excursions. She puts in a lot of work to get a date with you; I'd keep a girl like that."

Itachi looked up at his smiling friend as the car swayed to a stop at a red light.

He gave a good cough, clearing his throat. It was still hard to breath, "She's going to end up killing me."

Kisame chuckled, "At least you'll die happy."

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for taking the time to read. This will be a short story: 4 chapters long. Please leave a review if you have the time. _


	2. Chapter 2

Heist of the Aztec Necklace

Chapter 2

The date occurred at twelve o'clock, the busiest time of day for the Italian restaurant. According zagat and yelp, this was the best place in town to eat. The restaurant mainly had seating outside and there was no way he would try anything in the public eye. She definitely knew how to control the situation.

His eyes scanned the outside seats looking for the woman.

"Do you have a reservation, sir?" a waitress asked from behind him.

He turned and her eyeballs grew wide before her tone changed to a silkier register, "Do you have a reservation?" She sounded like she was trying to ask him to a hotel room.

"Konoha," he told her. It wasn't his name, they never used names around strangers outside of town. Both of them were supposed to be several hundred miles away and in different directions. He on a business trip outside of the states, and she... He didn't actually know what her cover was supposed to be. In fact, maybe she was 'still in town'.

The waitress looked at the hostess table then gave a smile, "Right this way." As they made their way through the row of tables the waitress's heels began to click in distress. "It seems like your date has already arrived."

And so she had. The woman's short pink hair had been curled and placed in a bun, revealing her long, slender neck. She stood upon seeing him and the summer dress followed every inch of her curves seamlessly. Being perceptive, he noticed most men sitting or walking in the area had an eye on the woman. He wouldn't be able to touch her. Sometimes she was too good.

She gave a slight embrace and kissed the side of his right cheek, then his other. "It is good to see you."

Uncaught and uninjured he assumed. He took her hand and kissed the back of it. It never harmed a man to be a gentleman; his odds could only improve. "Thank you. It is good to see you too. You look stunning."

She blushed, in her girlish fashion, at his formality before she sat and motioned for him to do the same. "I already ordered, I hope you don't mind."

He only nodded his head, "Not a problem." He took his seat.

She'd been ordering for both of them for over a year now. She continued to ask, to be polite, and he continued to give her the same answer. He preferred it, ordering was always a hassle. With the current medication he was on, half of the time he could barely taste the food; so it didn't matter what exactly he ordered in the first place.

She was neither cheap nor expensive, whatever she bought usually was the median price. That being said though, she was very enthusiastic about her courses. Bread(if the restaurant served it and if not an appetizer), a glass of wine , salad, entree, and then dessert was how she always had it.

She pulled the bread in the basket apart, and then slowly spread the butter upon the piece in her hand. She was very cautious about not getting any on the table or on her hand, but she liked the entire piece to be covered before-she popped the piece in her mouth and began to chew.

Her green eyes then looked at him and redness dubbed her cheeks once again. As she chewed, she raised her napkin to her face. She was fairly hungry; her continuous appetite never ceased to amaze him. Perhaps it was that food tasted better for her. But she at least had been polite enough to wait until he was seated to begin eating.

He pulled a piece of bread from the small tray and ate it without butter. The soft, warm wheat and oat was filtered with the metallic film of his saliva. He gave her a smile, knowing it best to get to the point...When the waitress left them alone, of course.

"May I get you something to drink?" her clicking heels had given away her return.

He turned to her, "This water is fine," he said taking a sip.

The waitress smiled, her lips pinched upward, "Alright, let me know if you need anything." Her eyes darted to Sakura.

"Will do," Sakura smiled like a girl who'd gotten the larger half of a chocolate bar.

The clicking retreated and the murmur of voices surrounded them, letting him know it was safe to begin.

"You're wearing a wire," he left his tone open as if asking why.

Her nose twitched, such an easy tell. "How obvious is it?"

He smirked, it was good to be right. It had been a educated guess, but she didn't have to know that. "You usually wear lower cut tops, its obvious your little friends dressed you today."

Her cheeks went red at his blatant admittance of them usually meeting. As far as her team knew, he and Sakura were not friends. Her team members were probably squealing over the microphone about lower cut tops though, missing the point that he saw Sakura on a regular basis. It was his way of getting a small amount of revenge. It was fine, stealing an item to arrange a date. In fact, he enjoyed their banter and play. But the terms were a date, so that is what he expected. She'd tricked him into getting involved with something more. Something that would probably be unpleasant.

She cleared her throat, a signal to shut up the banter on the other end. She continued to try and play it off. "Your brother just wants to know how you're doing."

Yes, his dear brother wanted a lot of things like his demise or death, figurative in his job and perhaps the literal meaning as well. It was somewhat understandable. He had stolen a piece from his brother midst his brother stealing it. It happened all the time in their little world, but his brother had taken it too seriously. Since then, Sasuke hadn't even spoken a decent conversation with him. Sad really. Blood was very thick in their clan, even if almost all of them worked for different employers. That being said, there were a couple of odd balls in his family that actually worked for the law. Even though he didn't want to test it, he was curious whether blood was thicker than steel manacles .

"What a delight. It's good to know that deep down Sasuke truly cares for me." If that wouldn't ignite his brother's anger, nothing would.

She gave a twisted smile and tugged at her earring. It sounded like his brother was being a tad bit callous, and to such a pretty woman too… That wouldn't do. It was about time the conversation only had two people in it.

"How have you been?" he began.

She smiled, assuming it was just a formality. "Well, very well. You?"

"Pleasant, seeing that I didn't have to court to get a make-out session a night ago."

Her hand snatched and pulled out her earring, and her other hand reached into her dress to turn off the transmitter. Green eyes glared at him. Her smile grew wider and more twisted.

"If you don't play nice, you won't get what you came for."

She always resulted in using blackmails against him. He lifted her chin with his hands. "You're very beautiful when you make threats, I think you enjoy it."

The sliding of a chair drew both of their attentions. The man plopped down, sitting backwards on the chair to face them. "Yo!"

"Hello, Mr. Hatake, care to join us for lunch?" Itachi asked, his hand still lingering on Sakura's throat.

"Just stopping by for a visit actually. Checking in, making sure things go smoothly; curious to know what is going on," at the last line he looked directly at Sakura with his one visible eye.

Her face started changing shades. "Everything is going according to plan," she hissed.

"What plan would that be exactly?" Itachi asked, pulling her chin closer to him.

"Yes, please do tell Sakura," Hatake said leaning in.

Perhaps it was cruel to do this to the girl, but she had asked for it. Even Kakashi was involved, so this meant more than just his brother trying to ruin a date with a beautiful woman. It was likely to be a business affair.

The smile was almost to her eyes and her teeth flashed like a snarling dog. "Behave both of you."

"Will you be joining them?" the waitress asked, she had returned hoping that the woman was truly for the grey-haired man.

"Yes-"the man said, his one eye closing in a smile.

"No-" came from the two already seated.

Hatake looked at Sakura and something passed between them.

She dipped her head in submission, "Yes…" It sounded like a growl more than a human word.

The waitress gave a smile. "Can I get you something to drink?"

Hatake looked at Itachi, "Are you paying?"

Itachi could already knew this wasn't going to end well for him and now he wasn't even allowed to be alone with a pretty girl. Who knew this plan could backfire so much? "Yes."

"A glass of your most expensive wine then."

He'd probably be losing money on this venture.

* * *

_Thanks for taking the time to read. I'd appreciate any feedback you care to give. Have a good weekend! _


	3. Chapter 3

Heist of the Aztec Necklace

Chapter 3

How much wine could this man consume and still remain only slightly tispy?

Itachi watched Kakashi sip at another glass, the normal surgical mask hung below his chin. Itachi was quite certain that Kakashi was emptying the contents somewhere and was only trying to raise the price of the bill. The one good eye looked up at him them, as if sensing the stare and perhaps sensing the suspicious intent. The eye closed and the man smiled, trying to be goofy. "Having a good time, Itachi?"

Itachi sighed, and looked across the table at his original, sole dinner partner. Her hand was at the bridge of her nose and she was rubbing it to rid herself of anger. It was good to know she was feeling the same as he. By now they would have had a refined conversation about a painting or sculpture and would have moved on, in low tones, at how they would go about stealing said painting or sculpture. At the moment, they hadn't really spoken due to the disturbance of the man sitting between them. And following this pattern, it was likely that after dessert they would not find a small venue that had music playing so they could dance. This would then not lead to sweet kisses upon the wrist, the cheek, the mouth; the consumption of more alcohol and dinner. And thus, not waking in a hotel room next to a very soft, yet toned, body with his stolen goods resting on the dresser, forgotten.

Kakashi leaned forward, cutting off Itachi's gaze of Sakura, as if sensing lingering emotions or noticing the glance was almost possessive . "How's business going?"

Itachi tilted his head to side, his eyes narrowing. Was that a blunt way of teasing him about being stolen from? There wasn't a smirk, although there was a light in the eye of the grey-haired man. Kakashi was leading the conversation; the man wanted information. About what, Itachi wasn't sure. But now it was fairly obvious that Sakura hadn't told him about the necklace, nor about how she had stolen his job. And he wasn't going to tell the man anything about that.

"It's been decent," Itachi gave a nod and a shrug at the same time. "But its summer here, jobs are always slower in the summer." Or perhaps it only seemed that way, as he normally worked at night and daylight lasted much longer. He preferred winter, or going to another hemisphere.

"Ah." Obviously that hadn't been what the man wanted. "Actually, I was wondering if you and your team were free for a couple of days. You see, our recent contractor is very interested in having the best of the best and has mentioned on several occasions that they would like to meet up with you. Your reputation and that of your team proceeds you."

"Hn." Itachi gave a bland look at the man currently blocking his view of the only interest he had at even being at the table.

The man didn't budge at his answer.

Itachi then sighed and pulled out his phone. He typed in a number and then extended the device to Kakashi.

The man took it. "Hello Pein, it has been awhile-" the man left, to continue the conversation in a better and more secure location.

"Why such a crowd, Sakura?" Itachi asked, a slight smile playing upon his features as he tried to return to their usual banter and tone.

She smiled right back, "Everyone says women are nosey, but men," she flapped her hand in dismay, "are much noisier." The smile dropped though and her eyes narrowed to glare at her wine glass, "They weren't supposed to be back till Tuesday."

She gave a sigh and in play boredom began to twirl her pesto angel hair onto her fork. "Guess there goes my fun."

Itachi's lips twisted upward, almost feral, "You do know there are other ways to have a good time besides bothering me."

Her green eyes flickered to him and the cat like expression was back on her face. "Ah, but you seem to have just as much fun as me. And besides, what else would you have been doing today? You have to admit, I give your life a dash of excitement." That had been down right flirtatious, her tongue licking the edge of the glass she had lifted to her face.

"You do realize my job isn't what you'd call 'boring'." He reached out and touched the hand that was barely grasping the salt shaker.

Her eyes dilated ever so slightly, and they looked at him with daring intent. "It would be, without a beautiful antagonist like me."

He raised and kissed the back of her hand, while smiling. Many years ago he'd snapped and told the girl, at the time, to leave their line of work. She'd dropped one of the earliest known pieces of Harvey Littleton's work and had broken it. The glass had shattered into countless pieces. He'd been a fan and had been horrified at the fate that had befallen the art. She'd put shame to any good thief's name. But now, she was one of the best. Stealing from other thieves, doing some of the best jewelry heists he'd ever seen. She'd single handedly stolen the Emerald of the Sky and ஆரஞ்சு தீ , Orange Fire , the largest padparadscha sapphire found in Sri Lanka.

He was very glad that she'd stuck around. Very glad. His lips lingered over her hand, she'd lost all shakiness, and he kissed it again before putting them back near the salt shaker. He then looked up at her.

"I'm not sure you know what an antagonist is," he smirked, releasing her hand just in time as a bottle of wine was slammed down right where his arm had been moments before.

He casually looked up to see his younger brother glaring down, eyes almost red. "Good afternoon, little brother."

The man gave a snarl like answer before sitting down into the seat Kakashi had left vacant. The black eyes looked like they were trying to burn at least seven or eight holes through their target.

"Sasuke, didn't mother teach you some manners?" Itachi raised an eyebrow, while extending his hand to be shaken.

The hand was taken but the grip was meant to crush his hand. A wicked grin made its way onto Sasuke's face; it was a warning that he was furious with the current situation. "Tch. Didn't mother teach not to play around with girls?"

Itachi's lips twisted up as he looked from his brother to Sakura's stone cold features. She looked ready to hit the table hard enough to get it to crack. Her fury was beautiful, but he knew better than to let her take action. After all, he was the one paying for the date. Broken things tended to cost more than wine. Itachi grabbed her hand once again and kissed it, much to the hiss of displeasure beside him, "Forgive my carelessness, Sakura."

Her lips twitched, as she was fighting both the urge to smile at his action and to glower at his younger brother.

"Sakura!"

Her hand was pulled out of his grasp as her chair was tilted almost all the way back by the tall man behind her. Using only one hand to balance her, he scratched the back of his head with the other. "Its been a while Itachi." Behind the blonde-headed man, was Kakashi, holding the phone like he wanted to snap it in half. It was instead tossed onto the table. The conversation must not have gone well.

He knew when to give up a losing battle. He picked up the phone.

Standing, he took out his wallet, pulling out five hundred dollars. He placed the bills in the center of the table and then gave his farewell, "It has been too long Mr. Namikaze. We'll have to catch up sometime soon." He turned his attention to the sole woman in the sea of angry testosterone, "Please have a good night, Sakura. I hope we can finish our business some other time."

He walked away then, only to hear the loudest of the group cry out, "What business do you have with a guy like that Sakura!"

Itachi smirked then, hearing an angry hiss escape the woman's lips. Her mouse had escaped… He gave a shrug.

He would reclaim the necklace some other time, sooner rather than later. And perhaps, he could schedule the place, he'd had too much Italian lately. Something more exquisite would liven things up.

"No necklace?" His partner was always quick to point out the obvious.

Itachi sighed at Kisame, who was leaning casually upon the brick wall in the alleyway. At Kisame's feet rested two suit cases. The two of them were heading home. If Pein had decided to take the job, it was more than a week away, but with Hatake's attitude it was likely that the invitation had been declined.

"Thats too bad," the man laughed at him, as if the failure was actually funny.

"When you guys get home, you can take her out on a real date."

Itachi only shrugged. Home, reality, keeping up appearances. It was never as sultry or mischievous. They both had to stick to the roles around them when they got back. There was no way either of them could afford to be known, so heists and attempts at thievery were a taboo topic, even at a dinner or a walk in the park. Her personality also switched; so he was the one left tracking down a nice restaurant, arranging the location, asking her out. Getting her to his place required eight hundred times more effort, because avoiding her overprotective team was near impossible.

Kisame laughed harder, knowing the cold expression too well. "Asking her to marry you would solve all of your problems."

The stare turned into a scowl.

Kisame starting coughing with laughter, "I forgot, you already did that didn't you?"

Itachi changed the subject, "Are we heading out?" He pointed to the bags.

"Does your brother know?"

"Kisame-"

"What about the grey haired man?"

"We should be thinking about getting the necklace back," Itachi growled.

Kisame let out a sigh, "I have no love life, at least let me pick on yours. And we will return to the subject after I'm done getting the information I want."

Itachi grabbed his suitcase and began walking away. Maybe he could catch a flight ahead of Kisame.

"Wait-does your mom know you proposed?"

"Kisame, just shut up."

It was going to be a long red-eye.


	4. Chapter 4

Heist of the Aztec Necklace

Chapter 4

He was back home. Here he was known as a young man who'd struck it big in the stock market while in college. The luck had been intel from a stolen laptop. Because the laptop had been stolen for information on a floor plan for a future heist and the email he'd happened upon had nothing to do with the job, he'd been allowed to use the insider trading information to his gain. To further disguise his plan, he bought several other random stocks.

He'd gotten a lot. He continued to buy more shares in the company, and then when half of the board of directors were sent to prison for insider trading, he'd been able to walk right in. Laziness was not a trait he'd been born with. During the days when he wasn't lurking about in dark corners, he was an entrepreneur. He'd gone on to acquire several other companies, lend money to start-ups and do seminars for the local community college class about business.

Unlike most of his colleagues in the shadowy profession he had more than just one hell of a solid alibi, he had a life. Majority of his team spent their days in shelters, planning their next heist, hiding their identity from the world. They believed being known was a weakness; he believed it was a protection he couldn't afford to live without.

Currently, he was being swarmed by several college students. He had a stack of resumes already in hand, and still there seemed to be more piling on the table next to the podium. He only smiled and continued his conversation though, the stack meant he was doing something right. He'd been to these as a student and had seen everyone leave once it was over, not bothering to even give the presenter another thought. Instead, he was setting up times for having coffee with the students that had further inquires or needed some networking.

The red dress in a sea of black pant suits caught his eye, as well as everybody else's in the room. They parted before the woman, letting her through to him.

"How is your night going?"

She smiled, "Fair enough."

He set a stack of business cards on top of the table. He was thinking it was about time to leave, "Dinner?"

Her lips shifted upward, almost into the cat like smile he loved. But it was only almost. Here she was a good, law abiding citizen. A bit of a shame. "Yes, that would be nice."

Informing the students about the cards, and to email him if they had the questions, he gave a wave goodbye to the students and extended an arm to Sakura in the same motion. She took it, and they made their way to the parking lot and to his car.

"Any particular restaurant?" he asked when they were settled.

"My boys are out tonight, so... A home cooked meal would be nice." Her tone was low, slightly in suggestion and a wicked smile had come upon her lips. She unbutton the first button of the throw around her shoulders, revealing a gold chain.

He smiled back, "I'm sure we can put together something." And with that he took off into the night.

His house was positioned halfway up the smallest mountain, largest hill, in town. He'd bought the entire hill and had selected it because of its location. Several miles below the spot where his house had been built was a closed mine. A perfect place for an underground base.

He, of course, had some work done to make it more livable and open. That work had been done by people that were on the shady side of the law, so no real paperwork or permits existed that showed what was inside of the mountain. In paper, he'd paid about a thousand dollars to the crew for closing down the mining tunnels, which was the explanation about the blasting being done. Even though the crew was shady, they'd been suggested by Itachi's current boss, which meant they were guaranteed to be good. That being said, he made sure the work was thorough and could withstand an 8.0 earthquake.

The house was two stories and, considering the money people knew he made, was relatively cheap and small. But -

"I always love how homey the place is," Sakura said, taking in a deep breath as she walked in.

She obviously had never been into his lair, or knew that he had one. He might be in love, but that didn't make him stupid. She was still very much a thief, and he had many valuables downstairs. She was also known for stealing from him in particular; case in point, the necklace hanging around her slender neck.

"Yes, its nice to have a home to come home to," and an underground swimming pool and training facility for his shadowy profession downstairs.

She took a deep breath again, "So, what's for dinner?"

He didn't keep fresh food when he went off on expeditions, that being said, his pantry was well stocked with non-perishables and canned foods. To her suggestion, he made spaghetti while she looked on, giving her advice about how to cook it. Why she liked Italian so much, he wasn't sure. But he didn't want to ruin this rare occasion by complaining about food choice. He was happy with whatever she wanted.

They moved to the living room when the food was done, and sat on the couch in front of the fake fireplace. Each had their own plate of spaghetti and a glass of good wine. They sat facing each other, she on her knees due to her dress and him cross-legged.

Conversation was pleasant and more relaxed than usual. There was banter, but more down played. Business wasn't discussed, instead she complained about her teammates idiotic actions and he, his.

Another bottle of wine and he was working on kissing her neck, while his hands pulled the gold piece over her head. Her hands were in his hair and she'd whisper in his ear every time she felt the necklace being moved. It meant starting over from the beginning, and that was how their strange game continued for another hour.

On the third bottle, the necklace was on the floor, along with his tie, button shirt and her throw. While both their mouths were occupied, he was working on untying the back of her dress. It was just as he had pulled the lace free that the front door opened with a bang, causing both of them to jump up, banging heads on the way.

Thinking it the worst case scenario, both quickly grabbed their clothes and began trying to put them on. Itachi barely got past buttoning his fifth button, when a large blue man walked in. Both of them visibly relaxed, it hadn't been her team.

"Hey, you two," he gave a wave in greeting, before sitting on the couch beside Itachi.

Only Kisame could be so oblivious to the mood of the room. The fireplace was going, there were glasses of wine on the table and Itachi's shirt was still unbuttoned. Itachi gave the man beside him a leveled glare. "Hello Kisame, may I ask what you are doing here?" Kisame was supposed to be downstairs, doing whatever he did in his own room. The rule was quite specific, when Itachi had company over, Kisame wasn't even to emerge on the surface.

"I live here?" Kisame titled his head to the side as if not understanding the question. "Anyways, I wanted to know if you wanted to play cards with me." He showed them the new deck in his hand.

Itachi motioned at Sakura, trying hint to Kisame that he should leave.

Instead Kisame took that as an invitation, "Do you want to play too, Sakura?"

Sakura's eyebrows rose slightly. Perhaps in the stupidity of Itachi's teammate.

"We were in the middle of something, Kisame," Itachi sighed, the mood was ruined now, there probably was no going back.

Kisame tilted his head again, this time to the other side before giving a grin and straightening his shoulders. "Alright, how 'bout I make you both a deal. Play cards with me, and I promise I will put in headphones and not listen to you two have sex later tonight." He wasn't oblivious. He was just being an ass.

At the very least Itachi would get the necklace but, judging by the look on Sakura's face, romance was off the table. It was going to be a long night.

"Have you ever played 'Go Fish'?" Kisame asked Sakura.

…A really long night.

* * *

_Please R & R if you have the time. Have a good weekend!_


End file.
